View Full Version : Which do you prefer? NITRO OR ELECTRIC?


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maxxgullo
12-23-2008, 01:05 AM
just wondering what everyone out there likes. i personally prefer electric for both bashing and racing. i tried to get into nitro for bashing for a couple of years, but id get so mad at nitro that i finally gave up on it!

ta_man
12-23-2008, 09:00 AM
Electric.

I went to the trouble of making my own electric conversion of a Nitro buggy almost two years ago because I didn't want the hassle of nitro. That first one, with a big brushed motor from Kershaw Designs, didn't work very well, but this past year when brushless & LiPo because more readily available it worked great!

Mike Clark
12-23-2008, 10:44 AM
NITRO!!!!!!!!!!!

Manimal517
12-23-2008, 11:35 AM
I like electric for racing, but run notro in the summer to keep my driving skills fron getting too rusty durring the off season

maxxgullo
12-23-2008, 01:08 PM
i do love the conversions that they make now that are just as good, if not better, than nitro...

maxxgullo
12-23-2008, 01:15 PM
i do love the conversions that they make now that are just as good, if not better, than nitro...

although i know nitro lovers will not admit to it...

TBRC1
12-23-2008, 01:52 PM
ELECTRIC ALL THE WAY ..................No worries about exhuast fume no noise and you can use the same car 52 weekends a year. Just work with tires, gearing and chassis per track and go racin"

420 Tech R/C
12-23-2008, 02:11 PM
All I have to say is I keep odd hours,and usually test changes to my buggies at like 1 AM..so electric, other wise I would be in the doghouse with my neighbors!

Mike Clark
12-23-2008, 02:32 PM
just wondering what everyone out there likes. i personally prefer electric for both bashing and racing. i tried to get into nitro for bashing for a couple of years, but id get so mad at nitro that i finally gave up on it!

Why would you get mad at Nitro?

ScottH
12-23-2008, 08:51 PM
Guess...

King Dork
12-23-2008, 10:19 PM
I've always been interested in nitro. All you have to do is be at a track when they're running a heat of them. I started in electric, but for a couple years I read all the info I could on nitro (engine tuning and break in, building clutches, etc., etc. . . . ). When I finally got one, I feel I already had a "better than average" amount of knowledge. I bought an engine I read alot about, break in was no problem, and I really enjoy it now. Sure, electric has a lot to learn about. However, nitro is much harder to "learn as you go". More people who get frustrated with nitro do so because they jump right in and get overwhelmed. If you're considering it, I only recommend reading as much on it as you can first and talk to guys currently running nitro and find out what they like or dislike. I love my electrics and race more of them and more often, but I really enjoy nitro very much. I'm not into conversions either. I bought nitro for the sound, smell, and experience you just can't get with batteries.

maxxgullo
12-24-2008, 11:17 AM
Why would you get mad at Nitro?

well one glourius day i was out bashing, i only bashed with nitro, did for a little while, and i just couldnt get my engine tuned right. so it puttered around and around, then finally, glo plug went. so i changed that, then i took it back out, worked ok for a while, then it started acting up again and stalled. so i went to pullstart it, pull start snapped. so i grabbed my screwdriver, threw it at my truck(fullsize)[(when i get mad, i tend to throw things)] and of course my screwdriver finds the 1ftx1ft opening in my back window and nails the windshield. that and i just cant stand listening to people complain all the time about the noise, as cool as i think it is and the smell of nitro, yes i like it, but alot of ppl dont. im just the type that likes to set it and forget it...

King Dork
12-24-2008, 04:54 PM
Exactly my point with nitro. Once an engine is out of whack, it's hard to get it set right if you're not an experienced engine tuner. I've seen guys adjust their carbs half to three quarter turn at a time (not a good idea), run it for 30 seconds, bring it over and do it again. They get their tune so screwed up that they can't find it again for the life of them. Patience is a must if you want to play with these engines. I also like throwing things when I'm mad, but I always seem to summon the forces of patience when playing with my truggy.

booey
12-25-2008, 02:17 PM
electric is clean and fast, thats why I like it.

TamiyaKing
12-26-2008, 11:21 PM
Looks like electric is winning by a landslide!:thumbsup:

ScottH
12-27-2008, 01:04 AM
Nitro all the way.

No battery wars. No discharge trays, cyclers, re-matching or any of the other BS that goes with it.

We get to spend tons of time on the chassis. Much like you LiPo guys, but we have been running the same engines and rules for the last 3-4 years.

Tim Mc
12-27-2008, 01:31 AM
If I had to go back to 1/10 scale, nitro would be the only choice for me.

maxxgullo
12-27-2008, 02:57 AM
Looks like electric is winning by a landslide!:thumbsup:

darn right it is!!!

maxxgullo
12-27-2008, 03:00 AM
Nitro all the way.

No battery wars. No discharge trays, cyclers, re-matching or any of the other BS that goes with it.

We get to spend tons of time on the chassis. Much like you LiPo guys, but we have been running the same engines and rules for the last 3-4 years.

i think its all the small things that steered me away from it, like i said before, glowplugs, fuel, tuning, CLEANING that made me want to stay away from nitro...

Tim Mc
12-27-2008, 11:57 AM
Are we talking offroad, onroad or oval here?

Msey
12-27-2008, 12:24 PM
I have been tempted a few times to try a nitro pancar. But, I have seen veteran nitro guys have flame outs right before the start of a race. That would really be frustrating! The brushless motors and lipo batteries make it hard to get away from electric racing now.

ScottH
12-27-2008, 01:09 PM
Been there done that on the flame outs.

The LONG mains are a blast. No more driving for HOURS and HOURS for just 16 minutes of racing.

Clean-up is easy, just some alcohol in a spray bottle (1.39 for a quart at Wal-Mart) and some compressed air, clean as new. Now if you are talking off-road, that is another deal all together.

TamiyaKing
12-27-2008, 03:13 PM
I must be honest i have a hpi mt2 with a new os .18 and i love it.The cleaning is a pain but other than that its great.:thumbsup:

King Dork
12-27-2008, 08:23 PM
TamiyaKing, I second that the cleaning of a nitro stinks. But man, as much as I love my electric, firing up that big ol Jammin JPX.28 in my truggy gets me excited:freak:.

sbrady#0
12-28-2008, 01:34 PM
electric and I run dirt oval paved and carpet ( you cant run nitro on carpet not long any how) off road and with brushless motors and lipo batterys I will run with nitro cars any time with my electric

TamiyaKing
12-28-2008, 09:04 PM
I second that electric is my roots.

ScottH
12-28-2008, 09:13 PM
Got my start in electric as well.

My guess is if any of you guys got the taste of a long Nitro-Pan Main you would really like it.

Ask, Monti, John or Greg.

maxxgullo
12-28-2008, 09:18 PM
i do agree that long nitro mains really are cool. i in no ways hate nitro, i just would never wanna run it again...

Mames
12-29-2008, 12:39 AM
wow i am supprised by the outcome of this poll, maybe it should also be posted in the warmer months again and then the 2 polls combined..
now i cant not realy vote either way as i like both of them. i race both of then off road. i like electric for its simple nature. lipos with brushless, wow this combination is unbelivible together, makes it so easy now. no more hauling a ton of batteries to the track to practice and race with, along with dischargers and trays. 3 or 4 chargers along with this.
on to nitro.. driving a nitro vehcile thats just tuned right on the track is just pure fun, the sound, the feeling, everything.. but when it goes bad it get ugly..
and yes the long nitro mains are great if everything is good with your vehcile but they suck when you trying to wheel something around for an hour with a motor that not tuned right, and its so much harder to tune while your racing, usaly end up going realy bad when you do this..
ow ya by the way i usealy end up running 4 to 5 vehciles on race day, between my kids and my self, so my views are slightly differenent.
anyways good poll, but to be fair this should be brought back up in june and the combined to get a true feal for it..

mames

maxxgullo
12-29-2008, 01:48 AM
wow i am supprised by the outcome of this poll, maybe it should also be posted in the warmer months again and then the 2 polls combined..
now i cant not realy vote either way as i like both of them. i race both of then off road. i like electric for its simple nature. lipos with brushless, wow this combination is unbelivible together, makes it so easy now. no more hauling a ton of batteries to the track to practice and race with, along with dischargers and trays. 3 or 4 chargers along with this.
on to nitro.. driving a nitro vehcile thats just tuned right on the track is just pure fun, the sound, the feeling, everything.. but when it goes bad it get ugly..
and yes the long nitro mains are great if everything is good with your vehcile but they suck when you trying to wheel something around for an hour with a motor that not tuned right, and its so much harder to tune while your racing, usaly end up going realy bad when you do this..
ow ya by the way i usealy end up running 4 to 5 vehciles on race day, between my kids and my self, so my views are slightly differenent.
anyways good poll, but to be fair this should be brought back up in june and the combined to get a true feal for it..

mames

yeah i guess it is a bit unfair that i did post this well after nitro season was up, so if i remember, i will dig it up, if its still around, and bump it to the top to see what reaction we get then...

TeamQuandtDad
12-30-2008, 04:42 PM
All I have to say is I keep odd hours,and usually test changes to my buggies at like 1 AM..so electric, other wise I would be in the doghouse with my neighbors!


iam in the doghouse at 4PM lol .... my neighbors do not like it at all .. i went with elec for a few reason ... 1 i got into racing oval and we have no nitro oval class .. 2nd nitro drive me nuts lol i love to abuse my stuff lol ops find the breakin point of it to make it better ... lol yeah thats it lol ... and with lipo and brushless makes one less issue ... no more nitro to buy at $26 a gallon n so on ..

so the nitro sits on the shelf and waves to me now n again as i walk by them lol

King Dork
12-30-2008, 10:03 PM
Just bought an 1/8 scale buggy today. Running the debate on whether I want to set it up nitro or electric:freak:.

TamiyaKing
12-30-2008, 10:39 PM
Hate to say nitro sounds good for it

TEAM_lost.
12-30-2008, 11:09 PM
I like them both. Running SK right now, but i'm looking to pick up a nitro stadium truck for outdoor this summer.

Mike

King Dork
12-31-2008, 10:15 AM
I'd say I'm leaning toward nitro because I really enjoy the "tinkering". However, anyone who's seen a 1/8 scale running a brushless / lipo setup knows they're pretty darn impressive.

jenzorace
01-01-2009, 12:51 PM
In the dirt electric is king! I own a nitro sprint. Been trying to sell it for 6 months. Ive raced offroad electric and nitro. Im tired of cleaning nitro goo, and replacing clutchs.

ScottStaypuff
01-01-2009, 01:44 PM
Electric technology has come a long way since the first time I got into the hobby 15 years ago as a kid. The brushless motors are amazing and now we have 8000mah+ batteries. Wow! If/when LiPo battery prices drop low enough I really see the squeeze being put on nitro.

BrentV
01-01-2009, 02:24 PM
I'd rather drive my 1:8 scale NITRO buggy over the electric flashlights, however I'm increasing the flashlight collection.

Even with more power in the electric vehicle than nitro, you still can't run 45min to 1hrs mains like you can with nitro.

BrentV
01-01-2009, 02:29 PM
Think of it this way.......

Nascar going to run electric, that would be a major downer. Or how about NHRA switching to electric, wow enjoy the sound (WWWWIIIIIIiiiiiiiizzzzzzzz).

maxxgullo
01-01-2009, 05:33 PM
Think of it this way.......

Nascar going to run electric, that would be a major downer. Or how about NHRA switching to electric, wow enjoy the sound (WWWWIIIIIIiiiiiiiizzzzzzzz).

ok, fullscale and scaled down racing are 2 different things. 2hp out of a nitro has nothing on 8000 that NHRA cars can throw down...

maxxgullo
01-01-2009, 05:41 PM
besides, u will prolly never see nitro do this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLOGAvhyJ84

and no, the tether car does not count...

DJ1978
01-01-2009, 06:16 PM
Both are fun and exciting and have their place in our hobby.
Electric is user friendly and easy to get started.
Nitro is a little more technical with the engine tuning and race strategies.
Anything that goes faster than ME is what I like!!!

maxxgullo
01-01-2009, 06:19 PM
Anything that goes faster than ME is what I like!!!

haha exactly, thats y i love the hobby so much...

BrentV
01-01-2009, 09:12 PM
I guess that I just prefer the features that DJ wrote about nitro. The idea that one can work on the engine by porting polishing etc. is more like full size racing only cheaper.

Again I don't dislike electric I just prefer nitro more.

Mike Clark
01-02-2009, 01:08 AM
If it's racing! Then it's nitro. If i'm playing around well then it's electric. Why in the world would you want to sit around charging batterys when you can get a splash & go and hit the track again.

That was funny! Lower priced lipo's putting a squeeze on nitro racers, LOL! 15 years in the hobby, right! Where the LHS?

mc-1
01-10-2009, 11:38 AM
i have ran nitro for 5years if your bashing it a blast but if you race you allways have to have a pit man if you go to a new track need to find a pit man and that sucks i go raceing by myself most of the time for 09 iam going all electric new t4 and slash no more need to find a pit man.

ScottStaypuff
01-10-2009, 02:00 PM
If it's racing! Then it's nitro. If i'm playing around well then it's electric. Why in the world would you want to sit around charging batterys when you can get a splash & go and hit the track again.

That was funny! Lower priced lipo's putting a squeeze on nitro racers, LOL! 15 years in the hobby, right! Where the LHS?


I think it will, but the manufacturers will sell what people buy so keep buying nitro and they'll keep selling them.

King Dork
01-10-2009, 05:00 PM
Well, I decided that the buggy's gonna be set up nitro. I am impressed at the brushless 1/8 scale buggies, but I really enjoy "playing with" a nitro machine. So the 777WC will either get a GRP or Trinity ExTech engine and pipe. I like both kinds of racing and have a lot of respect for both as well. I drive both and honestly think that 1/8 scale nitro is A LOT easier (to drive) than 1/10 scale electric. They both have thier list of needs as far as tuning and maintenance go.

Mike Clark
01-10-2009, 07:38 PM
I think it will, but the manufacturers will sell what people buy so keep buying nitro and they'll keep selling them.

You electric guys or racers kill me, your hope is that Nitro will just go away but it won't. Lipo's won't kill it! The battery wars brought about the Nitro resurge and I believe when you guys are paying $300.00 for your battery packs they will still be buying 1 gallon of Nitro fuel and having more fun for a longer time.

ta_man
01-11-2009, 09:34 AM
You electric guys or racers kill me, your hope is that Nitro will just go away but it won't. Lipo's won't kill it! The battery wars brought about the Nitro resurge and I believe when you guys are paying $300.00 for your battery packs they will still be buying 1 gallon of Nitro fuel and having more fun for a longer time.
I don't want electric to kill nitro, I just wanted to be able to race 1/8th scale without having to run nitro myself. I did that all last season, running with the nitros. This season at my track, we will have an electric 1/8th class.

On battery prices, quite a number of people are having success running the electric 1/8th with batteries that cost less that $100. Battery prices are trending downward. What is the trend in the price of Nitro fuel?